Grimsby Telegraph

Fund helps boost town’s cold storage capacity by 20%

60 JOBS TO BE CREATED AT HSH COLDSTORES

- By DAVID LAISTER david.laister@reachplc.com @davelaiste­r

GRIMSBY’S cold storage capacity is to be increased by 20 per cent after £5 million of government support was netted for a key project. Brexit and Covid have put pressure on a vital element of the wider seafood sector, with it trading at over-capacity for the past six months, as just in time imports have switched to more considered buying by the town’s cluster of processors.

The £30 million Europarc proposal from HSH Coldstores is fully consented and will create 60 new jobs, with the potential to unlock hundreds more in Grimsby.

It was the lead beneficiar­y from the first round of the UK Seafood Infrastruc­ture Fund, with £20 million being invested nationwide.

It is understood a further £2 million has been allocated to projects in the town.

Chief operating officer for Constellat­ion, the parent organisati­on of HSH, Henry Pringle, welcomed new Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer to the existing Birchin Way site, taking him on a tour of the huge operation.

He said: “We are running at overcapaci­ty, we’re storing in the aisles, it is everywhere, and it is not just us. Everyone in Grimsby is full. We see that as a major impediment to Grimsby industry, processing depends on cold storage and occupancy at the moment creates tonnes of additional cost. We cannot take in additional customers, and we’re having to shuttle to the Midlands and Peterborou­gh. “Grimsby being the centre of fish and seafood processing in the UK, a lot of the supply chains are dependent on imports. This is the main fish and chip shop warehouse for the UK.”

Cold storage is required for raw product, ingredient­s and pre-sale, with transporta­tion out of the cluster adding to the cost.

Mr Pringle said: “We are looking at building a new facility within Grimsby, supporting 30,000 pallet spaces. There are 150,000 currently, so that will be increasing by 20 per cent.”

The 52-year-old second generation business holds a third of the market share in the town, and will employ 200 people when the addition completes, scheduled for early 2024.

It is currently being rendered for, and has been hit by inflation in the building materials market.

Of the reasoning behind the demand, Mr Pringle said: “We are at peak season going into Christmas, there has been a bounce-back ost Covid and Brexit concern means no-one wants just-in-time inventory. The model is now to import and hold greater stock.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this without the grant funding. Capital expenditur­e accelerate­d, constructi­on costs have gone through the roof and while they have come down, they are not where they started. This really gets us across the line in terms of making it viable.”

When first announced in May 2021, with Europarc developer Wykeland, the 171,000 sq ft site had a price tag of £15 million, though 25 new fuel efficient trucks with the latest refrigerat­ion technology are also part of the bid. Mr Spencer, appointed to Defra under former Prime Minister Liz Truss, and the representa­tive for Sherwood, Nottingham­shire, said: “We are adding value to the processing sector, building extra storage that helps with the supply chains and generates jobs.

“This is about investing for the future and making sure we have one of the most robust, sustainabl­e and employable industries in Europe. We are now competing with our colleagues across the water, we want to make sure the UK fisheries sector is robust and fit for the future.

“It demonstrat­es our huge opportunit­ies in this sector, and I think this will assist on that journey, moving forward in the new world post-Brexit, and I think it is great news for the sector, it proves we can do it here in the Uk and do it very successful­ly.”

He rejected the idea it was paying for issues arising from the vote to leave, despite the stated change in business model.

“Companies are holding more stock because they are confident in the future and confident they are going to sell it,” he said.

 ?? ?? Henry Pringle from HSH Cold Stores with the Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries Mark Spencer at HSH Cold Stores in Grimsby
Henry Pringle from HSH Cold Stores with the Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries Mark Spencer at HSH Cold Stores in Grimsby

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